Voice is a Christian charity that gives young people the opportunity to grow in their musical gifts whilst exploring and sharing their faith with others through music.
The Heart of Voice is:
- to help children and young people explore and express faith in Jesus through music.
- to equip young musicians so that they can express their faith as individuals with integrity, honesty and confidence.
- to seek what it means to worship God not only through our music but with our whole lives.
- to explore new and fresh expressions of worship to God through music.
- to enhance the musical skills, understanding and experiences of young people.
- to bring together young musicians to glorify God through their music.
- to be a voice in this world for God.
History
In January 2010 a small group of singers and instrumentalists got together to perform in a fundraising concert at their local church. It was such a success and the feedback was so positive that the group wanted to keep going – the first Voice group had been created! We soon realised that maybe there was a need for high quality music-making opportunities for young people in other areas, especially for those who played orchestral instruments or who were from smaller churches. By September 2010 Voice had launched four groups and Voice Youth Choir and Orchestra was created.
In June 2011 we trialled a song writing project with our groups that resulted in the recording of our first album ‘Lost Without You’. It became clear that there were some young people with the gift of songwriting who didn’t have the platform to develop this talent and get their music heard by others. As a result, Voice Creative Artists was created to encourage, train and mentor songwriters and give them the opportunity to have their own music recorded and published.
We partnered with Scripture Union and Urban Saints to organise our first residential in the Summer of 2012, bringing musicians together from all over the country for a week of making great music, studying God’s word, playing crazy games and having loads of fun. It was a real success and is now becoming an annual event in the Voice calendar.
Simon Smith
Simon is Director of Voice Music. After studying Music at King’s College London where he gained a first class honours degree, and after completing his PGCE in Secondary Music Education at the University of Cambridge, Simon has worked as Head of Music and Director of Specialism at schools in Essex, Hampshire and the Wirral.
He has directed several youth choirs and orchestras and organised many concerts and international tours. He has now left the formal education sector to pursue a variety of projects involving music and young people. Simon is passionate about positively influencing and empowering the lives of others, using music to enrich, engage, inspire and as a means of sharing the truth, love and joy of God.
Abbi McKenzie
Abbi joined Voice in 2012, with both singing and playing piano being part of her musical interests. She became a part of the core team as a leader at the Wirral groups during her gap year between college and university. Since moving to Manchester in 2019, she has started Voice groups and school projects in the Stockport and Runcorn areas, and you will often see her on team at both junior and youth residentials.
During the rest of the week, Abbi works as a support worker for children with disabilities and studies for a Master’s degree in Psychoanalytical Studies. This will form part of her qualification as a child and adolescent psychotherapist, which is an ongoing journey alongside her Voice work.
Cai Grimshaw
Cai joined Voice as a singer in 2013 and, after completing an internship in 2019, has stuck around working for Voice ever since. As a part of the Voice team, she supports the planning and running of groups in Lymm and Prestbury, assists with one of our school projects, helps with Voice social media and with some of Voice’s various residentials.
Alongside Voice, Cai works in a bakery on the Wirral and is involved in the music group at her church. She is passionate about sharing faith through music with as many people as possible and making it accessible and relatable to all.
Beth Hampshire
Beth joined Voice in 2012, attending the summer residentials as a flautist and singer, and joined the residential team in 2018. She was also part of the first team to run Voice camps in Estonia and has been a mentor to some of our younger members. In 2021, Beth launched Voice Nottingham establishing fortnightly youth and junior groups for children from across the community. She recently graduated from Durham University with a Music degree and is passionate about creating inclusive spaces for young people to make music whilst exploring what faith means for them.
Beth Santry
Beth joined Voice in 2011 and has been involved ever since! After writing a song for the Voice “Lost Without You” project, she realised her love for songwriting and, with the help of Voice, was able to release her own EP “I’ll Follow” in 2014. She’s been on the leadership team for a number of Voice residentials in the UK and in Estonia and supported the Creative Artists programme to encourage others to write songs of worship to God.
Beth now oversees the Voice mentoring programme and helps run regular Voice groups in the Stockport area. When Beth isn’t singing, she’s working hard as a speech and language therapist in Manchester, helping children with speech, language and communication needs to find their voice as well!